Her eyes narrowed, then she took another sip.
“Good?”
She nodded slowly. “This is so good. Thank you.” She looked into his eyes.
“Thank you.” He cocked his head. “For trusting me.”
A quiet moment hung between them, and he wondered if she was feeling the same vibe he was.
She handed him his cup back. “Well, you prove to be trustworthy. Yeah, I’m definitely getting that next time.”
“I can get you one now.”
She bit her lower lip. “I think I’d kind of like to look forward to a next time.”
He smiled. She did feel it. It wasn’t his imagination. “Yes. I’d like that too.” He took a step and waved her to follow. “How ’boutyou let me take you on a little walk through the stadium and give you the lay of the land.”
“Excellent.” She followed comfortably at his side.
“Right now it’s pretty stark. Just the trees, and only a smattering of folks get started as early as us… ya know, the overachievers.”
“The best!”
“Without question, but later this week, all of the street signs will mark the rows and aisles, only a few of them are in place now.” They walked along and he explained the different types of trees.
“How do you know so much about Christmas trees?”
“Not just Christmas trees, all trees really. We have several tree farms in the area and I did seasonal work for most of them over the years. I also worked as a forester and did some wildland firefighting when they needed extra hands over the years.”
“Like those smoke jumpers?”
“No, more like ground work with fire suppression and management. It was a great experience and I make sure all of my volunteers get that education as well. We need to protect our natural resources.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Yes, but the proper training and teamwork make it less so. But yes, it’s dangerous. I wouldn’t mislead you on that.”
“You know what you were meant to do with your life.” She seemed impressed.
“I do.” It was nice to see her positive reaction. Lots of women thought being a fireman was a childish hero dream. There was so much more to it. “Here we go. Look.” He pointed to the pole that rose from the intersection. “See, right now we’re at the corner of Candy Cane Lane and Winter Wonderland Way.”
“That’s cute.”
“There will be signs throughout and you can chart your walk on the maps they’ll be handing out. Some people download them early and they’ll break up the Christmas Tree Stroll into a few nights. While it’s open to the public, a different restaurant hosts each night. Folks can come and have dinner, stroll, watch from the stands, and the schools and churches have time slots where they sing from up in the bleachers. It’s pretty cool.”
“The whole town gets involved.”
“Yes, and every year it’s tweaked a little based on the previous year, so we continue to build engagement and it works.”
“That’s fun. I saw your tree when we came in,” Sheila said. “The biggest one here.”
“Oh yeah. I always call dibs on the biggest tree they can lay their hands on.”
“Bigger is better?” she asked.
“No. Size doesn’t make it a sure winner, but I have a lot of volunteers, so the bigger tree gives more people a chance to participate. It seems only fair.”
“Of course.” They continued to walk through the trees. “Look at these little trees. That’s pitiful.”
